View from the roof
We spent a couple of nights at this 5* business focused hotel near St Paul’s Cathedral, in an executive king room (323 sq. feet – 30 sq. metres) on the sixth floor. Being so close to the City of London (CBD) the weekend rates are very reasonable by London standards and the hotel was relatively quiet. There are three bars, including a sports bar, although the lovely rooftop terrace is used for parties and functions so isn’t always available. There’s a spa, gym and swimming pool, too, with a steam room, Jacuzzi and sauna. Room service is available, as are accessible rooms.
Checking in at the reception was very quick and straightforward and we were soon in our room. As is often the case with London hotels the view was not particularly inspiring, being of an office block about 50 feet away. For privacy there’s a blackout curtain as well as the traditional pair.
Our lovely view
The king bed is what the British would call a superking, and not to everyone’s taste. It’s very firm, but the pillows are nice and soft and we both slept well. There’s a small two seat sofa from which you can watch the unusually small (21 inch) TV, which has easily accessible sockets for HDMI, USB, VGA and composite inputs. The problem is that these are more than a cable’s length from anywhere you can plug a device into the mains. The TV looks a little lost on the wall, too. There’s a basic Sky Sports subscription and some overpriced movies.
Teeny Tiny Tv
Next to the double wardrobes (which contain an ironing board and iron) is an automatic minibar, more on which in a minute, and tea/coffee making facility. There’s a decent range of options but the milk, despite being liquid, clumped like the powdered stuff when added to our tea. It was awful and wouldn’t then disperse. Guest relations are looking into the issue.
The minibar is well stocked but one of those irritating automatic kind so you cant dump everything out and use it as a fridge. There’s a little space on top of the other items though. As soon as you move an item, you’ll be charged for it, and in common with most minibars, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d opened the door of a time machine. If you want to know how much drinks will cost in twenty years time…..
A much more positive note is the bathroom. There’s a good sized bath and a walk-in shower with curved doors that open outwards so there’s lots of room to get in. The shower is powerful and has jets at head, chest, waist and leg height. It’s awesome, and a welcome change from the pathetic dribbles many hotel showers offer. The robes almost went round me.
Nice powerful shower with wide opening doors.
Breakfast options are Continental at £17.50 or English at £24.00. If you’re in an executive room you can upgrade to the Club package for £29 + tax a night, which allows two guests to use the well equipped business lounge (which has eight PC’s, printer, copier and snacks and drinks) and have English Breakfast. If there are two of you, it’s a no-brainer, with the caveat that our breakfasts on both mornings were both pretty cold after the short walk to our table. There’s a good selection for both English and continental, though.
All in all, would we stay here again? It’s clearly a business oriented hotel, but I think for a weekend break it’s great value, not so far into the City that the West End is inaccessible, and it’s a very pleasant and well equipped hotel. There’s a few niggles but all in all, we’d definitely stay again.
Widely Traveled 